How to Treat Kidney Failure

Chronic Kidney Disease
Chronic kidney disease commonly develops alongside diabetes and/or high blood pressures. Patients who suffer from either are at risk of also developing chronic kidney disease. This is because high blood sugar can cause damage to the kidneys in the same way that a car exposed to wintery weather conditions is impacted by the salt that the city will dump on the road to control for ice. The car will be ruined if not properly cleaned and maintained—and the same goes for the body’s kidneys. To prevent chronic kidney disease the patient must first address the issues of diabetes and/or high blood pressure. Obesity is also a factor in the progression of kidney disease. Additionally, chronic kidney disease can lead to hypertension if this is not already a factor. The reality is that an individual who suffers from chronic kidney disease is likely to suffer from stress, poor diet, lack of exercise, and a need to better regulate blood sugar (Gale Encyclopedia of Environmental Health, 2013).
The potential causes of chronic kidney disease include damage to the kidneys, which impairs their ability to filter blood. The kidneys are tasked with filtering out waste and water from the blood, which is flushed from the body in urine. The kidneys also help to maintain a proper chemical balance in the body. However, when one’s diet puts excess strain on the kidneys, particularly when that diet is high in salty, fatty, sugary foods, the kidneys can become damaged over time.
The problem of diet is particularly troublesome for many American patients as “Americans eat generally large amounts of sugar, which puts them at risk for the diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease,” all of which raise the risk of the patient developing chronic kidney disease (Gale Encyclopedia of Environmental Health, 2013). There are also numerous other risk factors, such as family history, age, environment and ethnicity: African Americans, Native Americans and Asians are all at higher risk for suffering from chronic kidney disease.
Once the kidneys are damaged, they fail to filter wastes as they should. Waste builds up in the body, acting essentially as a toxin. Patients suffer from lack of energy, trouble sleeping, puffiness, loss of appetite, difficulty concentrating, frequent need to urinate and so on.
Treatment for chronic kidney disease ranges from changes to diet to lowering hypertension. To decrease high blood pressure, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and angiotensin-II receptor blockers (ARBs) are typically used. Medications to control blood sugar level may also be required, and lowering blood cholesterol can also help.
Other ways to treat chronic kidney failure are to quit smoking, exercise more and begin eating a healthy diet. Exercise can help the body to regulate blood pressure and burn off calories. Diet, however, plays a large part in the slowing of kidney failure, and developing a healthy diet is considered one of the best ways to treat chronic kidney disease.
The low-protein diet is most commonly recommended for patients suffering from kidney disease (Gale Encyclopedia of Diets, 2013). While protein is needed to help individuals grow and develop properly, for individuals with kidney damage, protein can add to the problems of the body. Protein “contains 16% nitrogen, which the body eliminates in the urine as urea” but when the kidneys are not functioning correctly, “urea, ammonia, or other toxic nitrogen metabolites may build up in the blood” (Gale Encyclopedia of Diets, 2013, p. 714). To relieve the kidneys and slow the rate of kidney failure, diets low in proteins are typically recommended.
In the low protein diet, most of the calories will come from carbohydrates instead of from proteins. High-protein foods include eggs, meat, fish and dairy. These should be avoided but may be part of the diet just in smaller amounts. It is never wise to completely eliminate protein from the diet as the body still requires protein to keep functioning healthily. That is why this is called the low protein diet and not the no protein diet.
Other dietary treatments to consider include: a) decreasing salt intake, b) focusing on healthy foods like fruit, vegetables, beans, and lean meats or fish; c) avoiding orange juice as it is high in phosphorous which is difficult for kidneys to filter when they are damaged; instead, patients could consume apple or cranberry juice or grape juice as well; d) avoiding dark sodas which tend to be high in phosphorous; e) monitoring one’s alcohol intake or avoiding alcohol altogether if possible (Gale Encyclopedia of Environmental Health, 2013).
Finally, patients must undergo regular kidney testing to monitor the disease to ensure it is not worsening. If it does worsen, patients may be required to undergo dialysis. Things to look out for during testing include high triglyceride levels, anemia, and calcium levels. As calcium is needed to keep bones from becoming weak, it is crucial that patients make sure they are getting enough of the nutrient, lest they also develop osteoporosis. This would lead them to have brittle bones which could easily break with the slightest fall. In short, chronic kidney failure indicates that total monitoring of the body is required.
References
Gale Encyclopedia of Diets. (2013). Low-protein diet, 714-717.
Gale Encyclopedia of Environmental Health. (2013). Chronic kidney disease, 170-174.